Police search for bank robber
PORTERSVILLE — State police in Butler are looking for the man who robbed the First National Bank branch on Route 19 Wednesday afternoon.
The robber, a white man, walked in at 1:37 p.m. and threatened a teller.
“He said, 'Give me the money. Do what I say,'” said lead investigator Trooper Gregory Bogan.
No weapon was displayed but the suspect apparently implied that he had one, police said. No one was hurt.
The man made off with an undisclosed amount of money. Police did not immediately have any information about a possible getaway vehicle.
The suspect is described as about 6 feet tall with a stocky build. He was wearing a gray colored ski mask and a blue Penn State University sweat shirt.
Police later released images of the robber from a bank surveillance video. Anyone with information is asked to call police at 724-284-8100.
Bogan could not be reached for further comment Thursday morning.
The bank is open today. Officials with First National Bank, based in Hermitage, could not be reached for comment.
The same bank was robbed twice in 2011.
An armed robber made off with an undisclosed amount of money March 7 that year. Another robber, Christopher M. Stanford, 34, of Portersville, was tackled by an employee at the bank and three other men during an attempted robbery April 29.Dale Schreffler, owner of Cal's General Store, which is next door to the bank, said he can recall the bank being robbed three or four times during the past 15 years or so.“They've gotten hit a few times,” Schreffler said.He said it is a shame the robbery took place.“Those (bank employees) went through hell,” Schreffler said.He said neither he nor his employees really saw much of what happened. He said police used the store's surveillance cameras to look for any information, but police apparently did not find anything.
